SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team takes to the road for the first time this season for their third top-10 matchup in the last four games. The Irish face ACC foe North Carolina as the fifth-ranked Notre Dame team is set to clash with the seventh-ranked Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, North Carolina at 11am Saturday. The growing rivalry between the two squads will air on the ACC Network.
March is Daughters 4 Dads month for the Irish. All month long the women will be fundraising for the charity, founded in 2015 to raise awareness and funds to help researchers put an end to cancer. Now in it’s 10th edition, the Irish look to expand on their efforts here in 2024.
GAME DETAILS
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
Schedule: March
TV: ACC Network
Live Stats: UND.com
Twitter Updates: @NDWomensLax
For a more in-depth look at the matchup – Game Notes: Notre Dame
FOR STARTERS
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The Irish kicked off their 2024 campaign with a five-game homestand in which they went 4-1 and had their best start to a season (4-0) since 2020.
Saturday’s morning game marks Notre Dame’s first road contest of the 2024 season.
Last season the Irish boasted four regular season road wins, including defeats of Duke, Butler, Pitt and Robert Morris.
The month-long homestand concluded with Syracuse last weekend as the Irish fell late to the Orange in their first loss of the season.
Notre Dame opened their season with a 21-6 win over Eastern Michigan and are averaging 20.5 goals per game through four games played.
The blue and gold have combined for 20+ goal games three times thus far, most recently tallying a season high 25 goals against in-state foe Butler last Sunday.
Lilly Callahan, who has started every game this season, boasts all five decisions for the Irish in a 4-1 start to their season.
After an eight point weekend, including four goals and two assists against Northwestern, Jackie Wolak was named the USA Lacrosse Magazine, ILWomen and ACC Offensive Player of the Week after boasting four goals and two assists in the team’s win over then-top ranked Northwestern.
Freshmen Angie Conley, Kathryn Morrissey, Kate Timarky and Meghan O’Hare all scored their first collegiate goals and were joined by veterans Ciara Mazzone and Maeve Dwyer in the accomplishment in the opening weekend of the season.
The team’s leading scorer in 2023, Wolak, surpassed 100 points on the season with her third goal of the game (against Florida) to become just the third woman in program history to hit the ellusive century mark.
In round one of the 2023 postseason NCAA Tournament, Notre Dame rolled out a convincing 21-6 victory over Mercer to advance to the Second Round where they will face Florida. The 21 goals was a program best in the NCAA Tournament, along with their 31 points setting a new record as well.
Kasey Choma recorded 10 points in the win, leading the team and becoming the only Irish woman to hit double-digit scoring in a single game last season.
A program-best seven individuals were named to All-ACC teams ahead of the first round of the 2023 conference tournament. The offensive trio of Madison Ahern, Kasey Choma and Jackie Wolak were all named First Team All-ACC while the defensive corp of Lilly Callahan, Kelly Denes and Hannah Dorney were awarded Second Team honors. Abigail Lyons was recognized as a part of the All-Freshman team.
With her second goal of the day against RMU a season ago, Kasey Choma recorded her 200th career point. She went on to post four goals in the contest. Earning the assist on Choma’s 200th point mark, Jackie Wolak tied her classmate with her 200th point for the Irish as well.
Live stats will be available for the contest as well as a the game being aired on the ACC Network.
IN THE POLLS
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Notre Dame was ranked No. 5 in the latest ILWomen/IWLCA poll of the season.
- The ACC coaches tabbed the Irish to finish fourth in the preseason rankings.
BALANCED ATTACK
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The Irish returned an NCAA best 91-percent of their scoring from a season ago including their six top scorers in Jackie Wolak (105 pts.), Kasey Choma (88 pts.), Madison Ahern (84 pts.), MK Doherty (38 pts.), Kristen Shanahan (29 pts.) and Kelly Denes (25 pts.).
The trio of Ahern, Wolak and Choma combined for 26 points in the team’s opening weekend to kick off 2024, led by Wolak with a team-best 12 points and 7 goals.
Arden Tierney, a draw specialist who joined the Irish ahead of the 2024 season, registered 10 draw controls in week 1, including eight in the team’s 22-3 win over Central Michigan. Kelly Denes, who led the team in the category a year ago boasts 29 draw controls thus far in 2024 and leads the team in the category again, more than double any of her teammates.
Denes led the team with eight draw controls against Northwestern, tying that of the visitors’s total at the circle as the Irish dominated draws by a 20-8 margin. She now boasts 37 draw controls this season and averages 7.4 controls per game, good for an ACC best and 16th in the country.
In addition to being one of the team’s top contributors offensively, Denes led the team at the draw circle last season, boasting 135 draw controls while MK Doherty’s 111 controls gave the Irish their first season in program history with two individuals eclipsing triple digits.
Through five games played, five Irish individuals boast double digit points, led by Wolak with a team-best 27. The graduate also leads the team in goals (18) and assists (9). Kasey Choma also has six assists on the year in addition to her 12 goals.
With 105 points in 2023, Wolak ranked fourth nationally and second in the ACC. With her performance against Florida to reach the 100+ point mark, she became just the third woman in program history to hit 100 points in a single season.
With a scoring margin of 11.60, the Irish rank third in the nation while also boasting the second-most shots per game (48.60) and third in shots on goal (28.80).
With an average scoring offense of 19.20 goals per game, the Irish attack ranks third in the nation and leads the ACC.
Wolak’s 18 goals in four games ranks eighth in the country and her 27 points is second overall.
LEADERSHIP GROUP
- The team named a trio of captains, as voted on by their peers, ahead of the 2024 season. This year’s captains will be Madison Ahern, Kasey Choma and Aine Maseker.